The Best Open Source Rufus AlternativesTop Bootable USB Creators and other similar apps like Rufus

The best open source alternative to Rufus is Ventoy. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Rufus and many of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Rufus are UNetbootin, balenaEtcher, YUMI exFAT and dd.

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Rufus alternatives are mainly Bootable USB Creators, but if you're looking for Disk Imaging Tools or Linux Distros you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Linux, Mac, Windows, Android, Linux + Create bootable USB, Windows + Free and Mac + Create bootable USB. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Rufus.
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Alternatives list

  1. Ventoy icon

    Ventoy

     387 likes

    Ventoy is an open source tool to create bootable USB drive for ISO files. With ventoy, you don't need to format the disk again and again, you just need to copy the iso file to the USB drive and boot it.

    56 Ventoy alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Ventoy screenshot 1
     
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    8
    Ventoy vs Rufus Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Barrett
    5

    I have over 20 ISOs on one flash drive because of this utility. It's my favorite software for multiboot USBs. Keep in mind, however, that it doesn't work on any Mac hardware.

    Guest
    Positive
    3

    It allows simple drag & drop of ISO files to a USB drive and then offers a Grub-style menu to select which ISO to boot from, as opposed to having to outright "burn" the ISO to a drive.

    Not 100% compatible, but 99.999%.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Matheus Bastos
    Positive
    2

    Create a separate partition for booting and a special one for placing OS ".iso" files easily.

    3 of 8 comments
    • Ventoy is Free and Open SourceRufus is also Free and Open Source
  2. UNetbootin icon

    UNetbootin

     760 likes

    Cross-platform tool for making bootable USB and Live USB drives, featuring a built-in downloader for Linux ISO images and rescue disks, supporting BSD and various utilities. No installation required, it runs directly and offers compatibility and community support for many distributions.

    59 UNetbootin alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • PortableApps.com
    Welcome screen
     
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    13
    UNetbootin vs Rufus Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Kandi
    18

    Easy to use. Supports a huge variety of platforms

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    13

    does not do UEFI mode does not recognize external hdd/ sdd does not do windows bootable drives and have issues even with some linux distros does not do multiple booting images on single drive

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    1

    UNetbootin is for Linux Distributions. Rufus is for creating bootable USBs in general, independant from the target OS.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 13 comments
    • UNetbootin is Free and Open SourceRufus is also Free and Open Source
  4. balenaEtcher icon

    balenaEtcher

     655 likes

    A free, open-source tool for burning images to USB and SD cards. Compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux. Features validated burning, avoiding accidental wipes, offers a sleek interface, is lightweight and portable, making it ideal for users at any skill level.

    57 balenaEtcher alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    balenaEtcher screenshot 1
     
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    36
    balenaEtcher vs Rufus Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    espectalll
    9

    It's simple, it's easy, it's slick, and it's multiplatform, May not be for everyone, but surely is for most people.

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    59

    Cannot select between gpt and mbr partition styles

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Sebastian
    Positive
    0

    I love this software! Easy to use and works great.

    3 of 36 comments
    • balenaEtcher is Free and Open SourceRufus is also Free and Open Source
  5. YUMI exFAT icon

    YUMI exFAT

     285 likes

    The YUMI exFAT (Your Universal Multiboot Installer) media creation tool can be used to automatically create an exFAT bootable USB flash drive containing multiple operating systems, antivirus utilities, disc cloning, diagnostic tools, and more.

    49 YUMI exFAT alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    • Wine
    • WineBottler
    YUMI exFAT screenshot 1
     
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    4
    YUMI exFAT vs Rufus Comments
    DiGiTaL_CORE
    Positive
    10

    YUMI now has (albeit alpha) support for UEFI. I have yet to need anything while making multiboot USBs. I love the fact I can make a single partition bootable without having to reformat my entire EHD.

    Lehuga ntaps
    Positive
    0

    It has all of it, support even Linux in one flashdrive

    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Multiboot abilities that are useful in making a useful debugging bootable usb

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 4 comments
    • YUMI exFAT is Free and Open SourceRufus is also Free and Open Source
  6. dd icon

    dd

     100 likes

    dd, that stands for ‘data duplicator’, is a command-line utility for Unix mainly used for copying and converting data.

    40 dd alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • BSD
     
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    6
    dd vs Rufus Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    3

    It's the only one that seems to be able to create BSD flash drives

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    cvanelli
    Negative
    -15

    crappy command line only program.

    Guest
    Positive
    1

    Considering this has been developed since 1974, it is very good at what it does.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 6 comments
    • dd is Free and Open SourceRufus is also Free and Open Source
  7. Universal USB Installer icon

    Universal USB Installer

     180 likes

    Universal USB Installer is a Live Linux USB Creator that allows you to choose from a selection of Linux Distributions to put on your USB Flash Drive. The Universal USB Installer is easy to use. Simply choose a Live Linux Distribution, the ISO file, your Flash Drive and, Click...

    47 Universal USB Installer alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Universal USB Installer screenshot 1
     
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    2
    Universal USB Installer vs Rufus Comments
    checholin
    Positive
    0

    Very simple and easy to use. Supports Persistent Linux.

    Guest
    Positive
    0

    It is complete, with all you need, to put an OS in yur USB

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • Universal USB Installer is Free and Open SourceRufus is also Free and Open Source
  9. WoeUSB icon

    WoeUSB

     29 likes

    WoeUSB is a simple tool that enable you to create your own usb stick windows installer from an iso image or a real DVD. It is a fork of Congelli501 s WinUSB.

    33 WoeUSB alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    WoeUSB screenshot 1
     
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    6
    WoeUSB vs Rufus Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Shampuan
    2

    It is the best of windows iso writer on linux.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    cvanelli
    Negative
    -3

    Does not have a GUI like Rufus

    Guest
    Positive
    2

    Perfect! It is the only one on linux that make bootable usb for windows iso files. Simple and easy to use.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 6 comments
    • WoeUSB is Free and Open SourceRufus is also Free and Open Source
  10. MultiBootUSB icon

    MultiBootUSB

     73 likes

    MultiBootUSB is a software to create multi boot live Linux on a removable media i.e USB disk. It is similar to UNetbootin but many distros can be installed, provided you have enough space on the disk.

    45 MultiBootUSB alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    MultiBootUSB screenshot 1
     
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    1
    MultiBootUSB vs Rufus Comments
    NickFreeman
    Positive
    -2

    support for multiple live linux distros

    • MultiBootUSB is Free and Open SourceRufus is also Free and Open Source
  12. Deepin Boot Maker icon

    Deepin Boot Maker

     14 likes

    Deepin Boot Maker is a boot maker developed by Deepin Technology Team. It is simple in interface and easy to operate. It helps users to easily make deepin boot disk.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Deepin Boot Maker screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Deepin Boot Maker vs Rufus Comments
    Guest
    Positive
    1

    easy to use and run perfectly on mac

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • Deepin Boot Maker is Free and Open SourceRufus is also Free and Open Source
  13. macUSB icon

    macUSB

     9 likes

    The easiest way to create legacy macOS bootable drives on modern Macs. Revive old Intel Macs using your Apple Silicon machine — no terminal knowledge required.

    53 macUSB alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    macUSB screenshot 1
     
12 of 44 Rufus alternatives